The Overwatch League has made quite a splash as one of the most anticipated esports leagues around, and now cable and network television channels are looking to get in on the action that Blizzard’s critically acclaimed team shooter has brought to the first-person shooter genre.
Part of what makes the Overwatch League so impressive is the approach that Blizzard has taken to the whole thing. Like real-life sports events, teams are based around cities—like Dallas, Boston, Seoul, and even London. The event drew in over 10 million viewers alone during its first week near the start of the year, and up until now has only been available on streaming platforms like Twitch and MLG.
Image credit of Blizzard Esports.
By extending to more traditional television—like ABC, ESPN, and others—the Overwatch League has a chance to become an even bigger phenomenon all around the world. This isn’t the first time that Overwatch has been featured on television. However, it will be the first time that the Overwatch League has premiered on television, and it’s a really big step forward for all of the esports industry.
This will be a continuation of Blizzard’s efforts to have more esports coverage on traditional television, as they’ve shown competitions for games like StarCraft 2 and Heroes of the Storm on ESPN and ESPN2 in the past. We’ll make sure to update you with more details about the transition to traditional television as more information is revealed. For now, though, you can dive into Overwatch and join over 40 million players as they compete to be some of the best players around.
